René Herbst

Book excerpt: Rene Herbst's enduring furniture designs provide fundamental lessons for today's interior designers. A staunch modernist, Herbst was a founding member and later president of the Union des artistes modernes (UAM) in France, which sought to make domestic comfort accessible to all, regardless of class. The diversity of his work is testament to his prolific and creative output, and his design is marked by its simplicity and functionality. The French architect turned designer was nicknamed the "man of steel" because he pioneered the use of the material for furniture years before mass production on a large scale was possible. In 1929 he created several versions of his celebrated Sandow Chair, which ignited his research into serial production and inaugurated the era of mass production. This book presents a selection of the best works from the Herbst Collection held by the library of the Musee des Arts decoratifs in Paris, and demonstrates how Herbst was the catalyst of a new style of living that spurred the birth of modernity.